Various piezo electric pickup or transducer systems or devices are utilized in conjunction with the bridges of stringed instruments including those constructions shown in the following U.S. patents: U.S. Pat. No. 3,291,887 to F. C. Carman et al issued Dec. 13, 1966; U.S. Pat. No. 3,325,580 to L. M. Barcus et al issued Jun. 13, 1967; U.S. Pat. No. 4,147,084 to D. E. Underwood issued Apr. 3, 1979; U.S. Pat. No. 4,356,754 to L. R. Fishman issued Nov. 1, 1982; U.S. Pat. No. 4,785,704 to L. R. Fishman issued Nov. 22, 1988; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,223,660 to H. Wahlgreen issued Jun. 29, 1993.
As shown by these patents and as is generally known in the violin art, generally planar bridge constructions are mounted upright on the upper surface of the instrument outer shell or body and are utilized to support the instrument's strings at their upper edge surface. When the instrument is played as by a bow or plucked by the fingers, vibrations are created which are transmitted through the bridge and thence to various piezo electric pickup or transducer devices mounted at various locations in or associated with the bridge itself. Examples of typical bridge constructions are shown by the previously referred to patents of Underwood, Barcus et al, Carman et al and Fishman. A standard bridge thus includes a central body having an upper edge for contacting the instrument's strings and a pair of sides which are generally interrupted with inwardly extending scroll cuts to in part define a pair of legs which in turn contact the upper surface of the instrument shell.
In addition to the side openings or scroll cuts, a central scroll cut is normally positioned in the bridge. The above indicated patents also show that various placements of the pickup device with respect to the bridge are known and include placement in the side openings between the main portion of the bridge and the legs thereof and in the upper portion of the bridge body between the central scroll cut and the upper edge thereof. Various pickup elements are also utilized such that the attachment of the pickup to the bridge is facilitated including opposed flexible blades such as shown in Fishman.
While the above constructions and pickup systems and bridges are generally satisfactory, there remains a need for a system which will generate rich overtones especially in high dynamic ranges and in correct phase and a bridge which can be played hard and reduces or eliminates the disadvantages of feedback. It is also desirable to be able to, in effect, tune the bridge to the player's or audience's preferences, that is, achieve the effect of using various shapes, sizes and materials to achieve different tones, sounds and the like yet not undergo the expense and time of so doing.